Heavy Action Preflop

A player in the cutoff seat opened the pot with a raise to 850, and PokerStars qualifier Antonio Buonanno three-bet from the small blind. He made it 2,500 to play, but his opponent wasn't done yet. The cutoff stuck in a four-bet to 8,200, and Buonanno came right back with a five-bet to 15,900. His opponent seemed to get the message this time, and he finally laid his non-aces down.

At an adjacent table, some significant preflop action was developing as well. Under the gun, big stack Jason Lavallee opened to 725, and he found two initial callers. The decision came to big blind Piergiorgio Dancona, and he announced a re-raise to 3,800. Lavallee wasn't having any of it; he stuck in another raise to 8,000 straight, and this time Dancona and the rest of the dabblers ran for cover.